Within blood-soaked eyes...
The fury of a Spartan brewed and surged.
Under the torrential downpour...
The black-haired youth, bathed in blood, raised his hand and grasped the hilt of the demonic sword.
On the demonic battlefield that was like a meat grinder...
The glistening blood from his palm was washed away by the rain, trickling down the shattered blade of the demonic sword.
"I will let you... drink my blood.
"In exchange, let me use your power—"
The two dying beings faced each other in the storm.
With the establishment of the `Contract`...
Their lives began to connect and link together completely.
Finally able to drink its host's blood...
The cracks on the sword's body gradually repaired and sealed.
The second after the warmth was lost...
A searing, burning sensation instantly filled Su Shu's mind.
Surging threads of blood streamed out from the sword's body, climbing up the black-haired youth's arm, his body, his heart—
Trembling...
A thick crimson color spread and soaked into the black-haired youth's pupils.
The thick, wax-like color spread rapidly, forming a crimson, blood-like armor on Su Shu's body.
"Hiss..."
"Hah..."
The thick scent of blood.
A heavy breath, as if making hell itself tremble.
The thing that once again stood up from the pile of demon corpses...
Was not human.
But... the master of this world, who reigned over hell and the divine peak—
Dante gazed blankly...
At his brother before him, who held a blood-red greatsword, his burly body standing tall.
A layered, hoarse voice...
Rippled out from beneath his demonic,狰狞, and bloody face—
"MY NAME IS KRATOS / AATROX...
"LISTEN...
"TO THE SILENCE—OF EXTINCTION—!!!"
*BOOM—!*
A huge pair of狰狞 demon wings tore through the flesh on his back and spread out!
A thick, prison-like bloodlust steamed from the sword-demon's body, erupting and spreading around him like a flickering flame!
The torrential downpour was instantly pushed away, purged!
The pile of demon corpses was instantly corroded, annihilated!
Even the grotesque things that had crawled out of the hell-rift, which did not possess the timid emotions of humans...
Seemed to feel an indescribable shock and fear under that figure, which was like the advent of a demon lord.
The demons' bodies...
Began to tremble, to crawl, to retreat.
Their gnashing, crisscrossing sharp teeth, their drooling mouths...
Those狰狞 maws, meant for eating, at this moment instead let out terrified, trembling whimpers and cries.
The wind was bone-chilling.
The rain was torrential.
Under the gray, starless night sky...
That hoarse voice, as deep as the demonic abyss of the underworld, yet so reassuring and admirable to Dante, slowly rippled out.
"You filthy, disgusting maggots...
"I will take your filthy bodies... and sever them! Slice them! Chop them!!!
"OLYMPUS! YOU WILL DIE—!!!"
BOOM!
The ground was stomped into a deep pit of spreading cracks.
The blood-red, burly demon body leaped up, its crimson wings suddenly unfolding under the gray moonlight.
With a hissing sonic boom...
The bloodthirsty demonic sword, as tall as a small mountain and covered in狰狞 thorns, suddenly swung down, unleashing a surging, blood-red sword light towards the ground!
Screech—
The earth trembled.
Flesh was torn apart.
A massive demon, the most bloated of them, with a shell like a woodworm, was split in half from top to bottom by the descending, violent sword!
In the splattering, foul-smelling blood...
The writhing intestines, trembling, poured out—
Splash...
"Hahaha... hahahahaha—!!!"
With a mad, hoarse laugh, and the humming sound of chains of fury spreading out...
All the demons who tried to escape were suddenly entangled by the chains burning with blood-red fury and pulled back towards this burly demon body.
Pshk—
A sweeping strike of the sword.
Like a meat grinder, it tore and shredded everything before it.
The torrential downpour...
Was also dyed a crimson, blood-like color.
The fallen demon lord, holding the bloodthirsty demonic sword, let out a crazed, hissing laugh in the splattering rain of blood.
Dante watched blankly... at this heart-stirring scene.
"Big brother..."
A fiery flame seemed to surge in his heart as well.
His figure...
Every step he took almost made the earth tremble.
There was no need to consider any fighting techniques.
There was no need for any restraints or defense.
All things not permitted to live...
Were so terrified their hearts and gallbladders split, and they began to flee in terror.
Su Shu's crimson, blood-like gaze swept around...
Watching the demons' bodies, which were trembling in fear.
Running away won't solve the problem.
Because...
A dead demon is a good demon!
Slaughter.
Shred.
The burly demon body, holding the bloodthirsty demonic sword, madly slaughtered all the grotesque things that were fleeing in terror.
The earth was bleeding.
Within his chest, which was like being filled and wrapped in a flame of rage...
The crazed and hoarse voice of Aatrox sounded.
"Interesting...
"Interesting! Interesting! Interesting!!!
"What an interesting kid...!
"So weak! So small!
"Such rage! Such bloodlust! This uncontrollable desire to kill!
"I admit, I misjudged you slightly! You... are worthy of being my host!
"So...
"I permit you to call me by my name! To call the name of Aatrox! This is your sublime honor!
"Kill!! Keep killing!!!
"Our compatibility! It's practically 1000%—!!!"
The madman destined to slay gods, and the demonic sword destined to slay gods.
Their wills seemed to fuse and intertwine, indistinguishable from each other.
That fury that seemed to want to sever and shatter everything...
Was so, so similar!!!
One by one, the demons' flesh and blood were shredded, and bathed in the violent rain of blood...
Aatrox, bathed in blood, holding the bloodthirsty demonic sword, let out a crazed, hoarse laugh.
"Haha... hahahahaha—!!!
"Feels good, right! Shred them! Vent it out!"
"You want to become stronger, right?
"Then give me more of your body, kid!
"You will become... the host of a god-slayer! This is your supreme honor!
"After all...
"With this weak human body of yours, you can't even unleash one ten-thousandth of my power!"
The crazed laughter suddenly froze.
Crack.
Su Shu gripped the hilt of the demonic sword.
The youth's crimson gaze lowered slightly, meeting the狰狞, bloodshot eye of the demonic sword.
As if talking to himself...
"Figure out... your identity—"
A layered, low voice vibrated from the same vocal cord.
"I am your master, Aatrox."
"Hmph..."
Faced with these words...
Aatrox just let out a disdainful sneer.
One person...
As if with a split personality, was playing both sides of the conversation.
"Kid... I just appreciate you, so I'm saying a few nice words to you.
"`Contract`?
"Indeed... we are connected now, that's true.
"But that kind of thing, to me, a vanguard of a wandering star! Has no binding force at all! I can unilaterally tear it up at any time!
"I don't need any contract! And no contract is worthy of binding me! I am free! I freely slaughter everything! No one is worthy of being my master!!!
"I was just ambushed by that bunch of scumbags! Maggots! From Olympus!
"I am the world-ender! Aatrox!
"Do you think... you, a small, weak human, are even worthy of being my master?!"
Under the pouring rain...
The atmosphere froze.
Bathed in the rain...
The bloodstains all over his body were washed away by the torrent.
The god-slayer named Kratos let out a hoarse, low growl.
"Then... get lost! I don't need a sword that won't obey!"
Without any hesitation...
Nor any delay...
Su Shu opened his fingers and directly threw the demonic sword in his hand, plunging it into the pile of demon corpses on the ground.
A mist of blood steamed.
The crimson, blood-like armor, like melting wax, slowly receded from his body.
From a burly demon body...
He reverted back to a slender young man.
The new left hand, generated by the demonic sword, had an unnaturally pale skin.
Su Shu flexed his fingers. There was no problem with its movement.
That was enough.
He turned and walked towards his brother, leaving without looking back.
"...Ah↗↘?"
The demonic sword, stuck in the ground, began to sway, letting out a surprised hiss.
Su Shu didn't even turn his head.
Looking at the youth's disdainful back...
Aatrox was enraged!
Damn it, even swords have tempers!
"Fuck you! You stinking kid! If you don't want to use me, then don't! Who the hell is afraid of who!!!"
The sword's body vibrated, letting out a roar.
It spoke toughly.
"Hmph..."
The狰狞 eye on the demonic sword averted its gaze arrogantly.
And yet...
From the corner of its eye...
The black-haired young man was walking further and further away, supporting his brother, without any intention of turning back.
Holy shit...?!
Who the hell am I?!
I'm Aatrox!!!
I am the God-Slayer! The World-Ender!!!
Looking at the back of the black-haired young man, who was supporting his brother and walking away in the rain...
It panicked.
Aatrox admitted it. It was panicking.
"Are you for real?! Kid!"
Aatrox, as a vanguard of a wandering star, was originally a world-shaking ender, that was true.
But now, it had been shattered into fragments by the Breath of the Planet, which the earth mother goddess, Gaia, had done her best to simulate.
The sword's consciousness was also a remnant of a remnant soul.
In his opinion... it was worse than a grandpa in a ring. At least Old Yao could refine some medicine and play with some bone-chilling cold fire.
But Aatrox, at this moment, couldn't even form a human shape.
If Su Shu hadn't fed it blood before...
Then this fragment of a wandering star's vanguard would have really withered, shriveled, and died...
And...
Though it was a slaughterer from beyond the heavens, unbound by any shackles...
Everything in this world would only be crushed and absorbed by it.
In other words...
It was impossible for it to sign a so-called `contract` with a native of this planet. Even if both sides agreed, there was not a single chance!
Because the rules on this planet could not shackle it, a vanguard of a wandering star. The fragment of the wandering star's crest in its body had the power to devour civilizations.
And yet...
After Su Shu had spoken those words, and it had tacitly agreed for the sake of survival and revenge—
The `Contract`.
Had actually been established?!
It, a vanguard of a wandering star...
Had actually, with this small, weak, and easily crushable little kid...
Their lives had intertwined and entangled.
"This... how is this possible—"
Aatrox felt the subtle, bloodline-like connection between itself and Su Shu, and its sword body couldn't help but sway.
The demonic sword and its host were separated.
That heart-stopping, bloody aura slowly dissipated.
Having lost Su Shu as its host...
It, now weak and powerless, was just a sword.
As if sensing Aatrox's weakness...
From the pile of demon corpses...
Those crawling, disgusting grotesque things stretched out their sticky tentacles, as if wanting to touch the hilt of the demonic sword.
The slimy mucus...
Slightly stained Aatrox's blade.
"Ah↗?!"
The demonic sword shivered all over.
And then, a hoarse, furious voice spread out.
"You! Dare to defile my noble body?!
"You filthy maggots!!!
"I will kill you a thousand times! And it won't be enough—!!!"
Pshk—
Aatrox leaped up, and with a nimble jumping slash, severed the tentacle that had dared to reach for it!
"Hmph..."
Bathed in the bloody water...
The eye on the demonic sword narrowed with disdain.
"Is that all you've got, kid!
"I don't need you. I can slowly rec..."
Muttering this to itself...
A huge head slowly rose before Aatrox.
A demon, shaped like a leech, with a body as large as a small mountain, slowly approached, its pink lips dripping with covetous mucus.
Its extended tongue...
Gently licked the demonic sword.
Leaving a trail of sticky, slimy, disgusting liquid on the blade.
"Ah→↗?!"
Aatrox was enraged!
"Who dares to defile a warrior of the gods?!"
And yet, looking at the demon head before it, which was as tall as a small mountain...
The demonic sword leaped up and bounced towards the black-haired young man.
"Kid...
"Kid—!"
"Damn it, look at Aatrox!"
Hearing that hoarse and somewhat comical voice...
Su Shu, supporting Dante, turned his head with an expressionless face and looked at the bouncing demonic sword behind him.
"You're so ruthless! You're awesome! Our contract has already been established. If I die, you'll die with me, you know that?!"
"So what..."
The black-haired young man's cold face was like looking at a piece of trash.
"I've said it before. I don't need a disobedient sword."
That indifferent expression...
Made Aatrox's teeth itch with anger, but he couldn't act on it.
Because they were already connected.
If he cursed him, wouldn't that be cursing himself?
With this reason, trying to convince himself...
Aatrox slightly narrowed the eye on its blade, its suppressed voice trembling.
"Kid... I admit, you've successfully piqued my interest!
"I can let you be my battle slave..."
Su Shu turned around without looking back.
"Ah↗!!!"
Aatrox screamed madly.
"Then, a servant? A bed partner?... No! No, no, no! Alright! I admit you are my warrior! I permit you to be my retainer!!"
Supporting his brother's body steadily...
The black-haired young man turned his head and said with an expressionless face.
"I am your... master."
As his words fell...
The eye on the demonic sword twitched.
Aatrox suddenly jumped up and fiercely poked Su Shu's knee with its hilt.
The black-haired young man raised his right hand, grabbed Aatrox's hilt, and held down this mad demonic sword.
The calm, deep ocher eyes...
And the狰狞, blood-stained eye of the demonic sword, met again.
The sword's body trembled...
Letting out a hoarse, trembling roar.
"I... have no master!
"No one is worthy of being my master!"
"You are not my master!
"Never, ever!!!!!"
"Aatrox..."
The violent torrent of rain...
Soaked Su Shu's wet bangs.
Bathed in the rain, the black-haired young man, abandoned by the world...
In a bloodbath that was like hell, said in a low, expressionless voice.
"I am not your master, that's fine...
"But I am also not your slave.
"If you can't even treat me as an equal...
"Then get lost. Go back to your heavens. So what if I die! I don't need a sword that wants to replace me!
"You have no master...
"My body will always belong to myself."
Clang—
Su Shu threw away the demonic sword in his hand.
Just like the moment it fell from the sky, it plunged into the ground, clanging.
The most inferior demons, with no reason at all...
Because the sword-demon had receded, slowly surrounded them again.
But they were intimidated by the youth's abyss-like presence, and were terrified by the previous slaughter.
They craved blood...
But they did not dare to get any closer...
In this solemn, dark, and torrential rain...
On this bloody, hellish battlefield...
The demonic sword was silent for a moment.
"We... are equals..."
The sword's body trembled.
Aatrox, with great difficulty, spoke in a broken voice.
"I admit... you and I are equals!
"We are... comrades-in-arms!
"The word of a warrior of the gods is as good as gold!"
As its words fell...
It instantly dissipated in this storm.
Faced with the demonic sword on the ground...
Su Shu slowly raised his hand.
Looking at the youth's pale, almost transparent, weak palm...
Aatrox was stunned.
Is he...
Wanting me...
To jump up on my own?! To move on my own?!
"Ah↗!!!"
With an indescribable humiliation...
Aatrox bounced up and the hilt fell into the youth's hand.
The demonic sword's eye trembled.
An annoying feeling.
But also a little... appreciative.
...Fuck!
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!!!
This stinking kid is really...
So rational!
Though he is furious, he is so clear-headed and rational!
It makes Aatrox jealous to the point of madness!
"Rational...
"Why can you still be so rational!!!
"Kratos! Your home was destroyed! Your family is dead! I can feel the rage in your heart, why are you still maintaining your rationality!!!
"Athena...
"Ares...
"You clearly know their identities, don't you?!
"Don't you want to chop those maggots to pieces?!
"Don't you want to smash their brains! Pull out their spines! Crush their every inch of body! Every inch of flesh! Every inch of bone!
"And nail those useless pieces of rags to their own statues?!!!!
"No, you clearly want to...
"I can feel that fiery heart of yours! Kratos! You want to do it so badly!!!
"You are destined to be the king who reigns over hell and the human world!
"Come! Kill! Kill your way up to Mount Olympus! Use the skulls of demons and gods to build your throne of skulls!
"Break free... from your shackles—"
Holding the bloodthirsty demonic sword...
Listening to Aatrox's hoarse, low growl, which echoed and vibrated in his mind...
The black-haired young man...
Was expressionless.
Become one... huh?
Indeed... it's very tempting.
By becoming one with the demonic sword, he could obtain the crest of the wandering star and, by devouring everything of civilization, gain an incredibly violent power.
But... he would then no longer be `Kratos`.
But the God-Eater named `Aatrox`.
"I cannot unleash my rage yet."
Su Shu slightly lowered his deep ocher eyes and met the demonic sword's gaze.
"Because... I must live on, Aatrox."
These few simple words...
Made the sword-demon's voice...
Suddenly stop—
"To unleash a furious rage, to abandon everything, to destroy everything, to break free from the shackles, how free that feels... I know that better than anyone."
Su Shu indeed knew that better than anyone.
In fact...
The freedom of being a `Beast`...
He had already experienced it.
He had already broken free from the cage once.
Looking at the youth's eyes...
Aatrox realized a cruel fact.
It finally realized that it had still underestimated this kid.
His rage was almost about to burn everything. He certainly had the determination to die.
But he was still trying his best, with the thing called `rationality`, to restrain himself.
Because...
Compared to breaking free from everything...
To restrain oneself again after breaking free from the cage... requires immense courage.
Su Shu knew very well what he had to do.
"You are... too weak right now, Aatrox, and so am I.
"If I want revenge, I must live on...
"When you're dead, you have nothing.
"I must live on for Father, for Myrrine, for Vergil, for the sacrificed warriors in the city...
"Dante still needs me. He can't lose me.
"The reason I hold you, and the reason you chose me... are the same.
"The day of revenge..."
His light and ethereal voice drifted in the rain.
Like the moonlight rippling in a pool of blood.
"...will not be far."
"Hehe... hehehe—"
Aatrox laughed.
As if in mockery, as if in ridicule, as if in sorrow...
It laughed hoarsely, intermittently.
"I see...
"You're already completely mad, Kratos.
"You are madly, clear-headedly, kid.
"A determination to die... is not rare.
"What's terrifying is the heart that endures to live for revenge.
"This is your... dark glory."
To cultivate a rational, compassionate, and empathetic personality with sound virtues...
Requires love, patience, companionship, and education...
And a long time.
And yet...
To turn a person into a madman...
Often just takes... a moment of despair—
No one can maintain their rationality forever.
Just as no one can resist the growth of their own fingernails.
So-called morality, order, gentleness, humility, propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame...
Are all just... masks.
Aatrox itself knew this better than anyone.
Before it fell...
It had once been...
A proud god...
—Wait.
The memory seems... something is wrong?
Am I... a vanguard of a wandering star?
Or a noble Ascended warrior of Shurima?
A subtle sense of incongruity lingered in its mind.
I was... sent to this world.
By whom...?
Guh...
My eye hurts.
Aatrox gave up thinking.
This subtle, welling sense of incongruity was quickly abandoned by the brain-abandoning Aatrox, and also thrown to the back of its mind.
It vaguely remembered...
Vaguely remembered... why its shattered self had fallen before this guy.
Because...
Aatrox had seen... rage.
In the deep ocher eyes of the black-haired young man before it, which were as deep as an ancient well, was brewing a surging rage that wanted to swallow and annihilate everything.
The flame of revenge...
Was burning in his heart.
The thing called `rationality` was on the verge of collapse.
"Kid...
"I look forward to the moment you take off your mask.
"I'll reluctantly let you use me for a while.
"Let's clean up this trash first."
Surging, thick threads of blood spread out from the sword's body, covering the black-haired young man's body inch by inch.
The crimson, blood-like armor slowly formed again, enveloping and wrapping Su Shu completely—
"Kratos...
"I have completely felt your domineering ambition...
"I have fully understood your determination...
"We... shall become one!"
Under the gray moonlight...
In the torrential downpour...
"Your pain...
"I will let it all bloom..."
The roar of the god-slayer echoed throughout the entire city-state of Sparta!
"*WORLD—ENDER—!!!!*"
With the bloodthirsty demonic sword, Aatrox...
Once again, inseparably connected...
Boom—
Blood-red wings tore through his back and spread out. The sword-demon's body's abyss-like presence immediately exploded! Increased! Dominated!!!
Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!!!!
At this moment, the god-slayer's presence was fifty times more violent! Fifty times stronger!
Incomparably domineering! Incomparably arrogant!
Damn it! Whether it's hell or the human world! What in this world can stop him! What in this world can stop him now?!!
In just a few short minutes...
Whether it was a named thing or an inferior cannon fodder...
"Die!"
The blade cut through flesh and blood.
Every time a life was killed, Aatrox, who had drunk its fill of demon blood, would let out a circle of crimson bloodlust.
Blood for the blood sword, skulls for the skull throne.
The corpses of the demons were almost piled up into a mountain of bones under that slaughtering demon body.
His nerves seemed to be about to melt in this slaughterous atrocity.
But he was precariously held back by that one thread of Su Shu's rationality.
With the slaughter...
The speed continuously increased...
The power continuously piled up—
The blood-red demon body shuttled through the rain of blood, and like a slaughterhouse, it cut down all the demons in the vicinity of the royal court.
Bathed in the torrential downpour, his entire body dripping with glistening blood...
The brother's hoarse voice drifted over from the silver-haired young man's dazed eyes.
"Dante... wait for big brother to come back."
"Blood! Blood! I need to drink more blood!! Hurry!! Kratos! Cleave! Sever! Mince!! Crush them!!!"
Faced with the tragic cries and roars of the warriors and demons fighting throughout the city-state...
Su Shu spread his wings.
Boom!
With the trembling of the mountain peak...
A crimson, blood-like meteor, with a fiery tail, descended from the high sky of the Spartan royal court—
`「Faced with this massive, unexpected demon invasion.」`
`「Your demon body, formed by the fusion with Aatrox, crashed down in various urban areas like a meteor.」`
`「To the dazed and astonished gazes of the warriors...」`
`「In a flash of a moment...」`
`「The demons' bodies were all severed and shredded by you.」`
`「A thick crimson color gradually spread over your pupils.」`
`「Even your vision was stained a crimson red.」`
`「As your desire to kill gradually rose...」`
`「Your blood also seemed to hiss.」`
`「Your nerves seemed to be about to completely melt in this slaughterous pleasure.」`
`「Although your rationality was already on the verge of collapse...」`
`「But you still carefully controlled your strength, to prevent harming the lives of the Spartan warriors.」`
`「Unfortunately, you couldn't quite control the damage to the buildings.」`
`「Thrust, sever, and then fly to the next area—」`
`「The dazed and confused Spartan warriors were incredibly surprised to find...」`
`「That demon body, which reigned like the king of hell, though facing it made their hands holding their weapons tremble, and their instincts had lost all will to fight...」`
`「And yet, it didn't even glance at the humans. With a violent sword-edge, it tore apart the demons' bodies and flew away.」`
`「Is this... a demon civil war?」`
`「A demon is slaughtering demons?」`
`「Your one-sided slaughter of the demons lasted for a whole night.」`
`「Streams, lakes...」`
`「The blood of the demons converged into a bloody ocean on the streets of the city-state. Washed by the storm, it rippled with broken waves.」`
`「In a seemingly endless slaughter...」`
`「The sound of the rain also gradually faded.」`
`「The sun rose, the moon set.」`
`「The faint light of dawn gradually rose from the azure sea level.」`
Crack, clack—
The rubble trembled.
The blade of the blood-red greatsword scraped against the ground, creating sparks.
Dragging his staggering steps...
Bathed in the bright morning light...
The black-haired young man, covered in blood, was dragging the bleeding demonic sword with both hands, swaying step by step, and walked up the mountain path to the Spartan royal court.
The once magnificent royal palace before him...
At this moment, was just a ruin of broken walls.
That violent and intense attack, which had shredded and annihilated everything, had struck directly from the coastline, stretching for tens of thousands of meters across the land.
After shattering the Spartan royal court, even the distant mountain peak behind the royal palace had been pierced with a狰狞, rugged, hundred-meter-wide huge hole.
The silver-haired young man knelt weakly in the ruins of the royal court.
Dante's hands...
His fingernails were torn and cracked, his skin covered in bloody scratches.
He had been trying all night to dig out Leonidas's body from the ruins...
But he hadn't found even a single fragment of a remnant or bone.
In that violent impact...
Even the existence of a single bone was a luxury.
Dante stared blankly, shedding tears, and turned his head.
He looked at his brother's tattered, bleeding body, walking towards him.
"Big brother..."
The young Dante tremblingly stood up and ran towards his brother, but was tripped by a piece of rubble and fell to the ground.
He didn't care about the dust all over his body and continued to crawl up, running forward with staggering steps, and supported Su Shu's swaying body.
This body...
These injuries...
These狰狞 bloody scratches all over his body.
Checking Su Shu's tragic body...
Dante desperately found that his big brother's condition... was much, much more serious than his own weakened state.
All over his body...
There was almost not a single intact piece of skin.
There was almost not a single intact bone.
Such heavy injuries...
As if being run over by a road roller...
For an ordinary person, even a strong Spartan warrior, he would have died more than ten times already.
But... the black-haired young man...
Was still weakly breathing.
Aatrox was incredible. He had been repeatedly shocked by this kid several times already.
Wielding the demonic sword to slaughter...
Was an extremely heavy burden.
A vanguard of a wandering star, such a weapon was not something anyone was qualified to use.
Its instinct to devour civilizations would unconsciously annihilate and erode everything, including the one who held it.
To wield this god-slaying sword, it was an extremely heavy burden on both the body and the nerves.
A bloodthirsty demonic sword.
The more you swung it, the more you would be eroded by its instincts.
Indeed, as a devourer of civilizations, Aatrox could become stronger step by step through slaughter.
But its current host...
Was `Kratos`, a young human body.
Just like eating...
Proper eating is good for the human body.
But excessive eating will only cause the stomach to perforate and rupture.
Excessive slaughter, excessive overflowing magical energy... stretched Su Shu's body, making him feel as if he had been run over by a road roller repeatedly.
This... was not an unsolvable problem.
If he completely merged with Aatrox...
He could get rid of this weak human body and, through slaughter, increase his strength almost without limit.
And yet, Su Shu could not do that.
Because if he did, the consciousness of `Kratos` would be completely annihilated and replaced by the consciousness of `Aatrox`.
The demonic sword's arrogant words...
Were indeed as good as gold.
Aatrox, while Su Shu was weak, did not erode his mind...
As a vanguard of a wandering star...
Aatrox found it hard to restrain its instinct for slaughter and bloodlust, but it was doing its best to absorb the magical energy and help maintain Su Shu's rationality.
Aatrox watched with great emotion...
As this tattered, precarious young body actually... walked all the way back.
What drove him was not bone or flesh...
But his concern for his younger brother.
Looking at the pale-faced silver-haired young man who was staggering over to support him...
Su Shu dazedly, with effort, smiled.
He tremblingly raised his hand.
Just as Vortigern often ruffled his hair, he gently ruffled his younger brother's silver hair.
"Dante..."
Hearing his brother's weak call...
The young Dante, holding back tears, brought his ear close to Su Shu's thin, humming lips.
"Don't be afraid. We're... home."
"Home..."
Hearing this word...
The silver-haired young man dazedly and frozenly looked at the ruin before him.
In one day...
The royal palace was destroyed.
Vergil was taken away.
And his father... had no bones left.
The young man's fragile and beautiful hopes...
Were all destroyed in an instant.
"Big brother..."
His right eye, which had been slashed by Ares, was covered in a hazy bloody light.
Tears as thick and red as blood flowed from the young Dante's eyes.
He cried with a trembling voice.
"We don't... have a home anymore—"
Su Shu caressed the young Dante's hair.
Though he was taller than him...
He was really a... troublesome... younger brother.
You're supposed to be an optimist—
When will I ever see that carefree smile of yours?
"Where... I am, is... your home."
As his words fell...
Holding on to the last bit of consciousness, seeing that his brother was safe...
The black-haired young man closed his eyes and suddenly fainted.
"Brother!!!"
In this desperate, rising morning light...
Aatrox's lazy voice sounded.
"Ah... don't worry... your brother won't die.
"Properly... let him rest, kid.
"Your brother has... amazing aptitude."
In that seemingly endless slaughter...
Aatrox, who had become one with Su Shu, had already noticed.
Though this body had been on the verge of collapse many times, about to disintegrate and shatter—
And yet... Su Shu had still held on.
Why could he still hold on? How could he still hold on?
Aatrox had discovered it.
Something... was loosening on Kratos's body.
What was on the verge of breaking was not his body, but the shackles on him.
It was a power that made even the bloodthirsty demonic sword, the vanguard of a wandering star, feel shocked.
"I see...
"You are also not something that should exist in this world, kid.
"Hehe... comrades-in-arms?
"Maybe in the future, it will be me who is climbing up to you?"
As Aatrox's words fell...
The young Dante's gaze slowly, warily, shifted to that bloodthirsty demonic sword.
He had noticed it before.
This blood-red demonic sword that had descended before his big brother...
Its狰狞 appearance really made one think of...
"What are you... a demon? Or something else—"
"Hmph... a demon?"
Aatrox jumped out of Su Shu's hand and, with its hilt, helped to support the black-haired young man's body.
"Don't confuse my perfect divine body with those filthy, ugly maggots!
"This time, I'll spare your transgression of speech, kid...
"However, let me introduce myself first—
"Hehe..."
The demonic sword's body swayed, letting out a hoarse,狰狞 laugh that could scare a child.
"Hello, Dante. I am... Aatrox."
***
`「You slowly awaken from your coma.」`
`「You look at Dante, who is holding your hand. The youth's sleepy eyes instantly clear, and an overwhelming joy fills them.」`
`「You open your shirt.」`
`「Aatrox has收束 into your body, forming a closed eyeball on your chest.」`
`「Because of the vanguard of a wandering star's talent, with your host's aura, it can more effectively shield you from the prying eyes of the gods.」`
`「While you were in a coma, it had been dormant in your body.」`
`「You can feel a burning sensation from your chest.」`
`「These days, it has been working hard to repair your body.」`
`「The priests only thought it was a miracle of heaven's pity for the wise son.」`
`「From Dante's mouth, you learn of the events that have happened during this time.」`
`「You have been in a coma for... more than half a month.」`
`「The fragments of the crimson giant are said to have been shattered again by the gods.」`
`「From the sublime Mount Olympus, the gods will soon be able to cast their gaze down.」`
`「The people are rejoicing, and are praying to the temple of the god of war for the favor of Ares on your behalf.」`
`「The current situation in Sparta is like a lingering ember in a pile of ruined firewood.」`
`「Leonidas's bones are nowhere to be found, the wise son Kratos has fallen into a coma. The entire city-state is like a group of dragons without a leader. The people were at first filled with panic and unease.」`
`「But, hearing the good news of the gods' victory, the fire of hope was quickly ignited. The people, in blood and tears, began to quickly clean up the mess.」`
`「The tattered homes were rebuilt again. After all, this kind of thing had been repeated countless times.」`
`「At the same time...」`
`「There exists a demon that slaughters demons.」`
`「This legend has gradually spread throughout this land of Greece, causing a stir among the allies.」`
`「Countless gazes have been cast towards the attacked Sparta. People are all concerned about how long it will take for you to wake up.」`
`「Three days later.」`
`「Sitting in the temporarily built, simple palace, you hold the battle report in your hand and fall into a long silence.」`
`「In this battle, more than three thousand Spartans were killed or injured. Including the residents of the city-state, the total casualties were more than forty thousand. And that was because you had killed quickly and saved many lives.」`
`「That violent attack that had struck from the sea level, no one knew what it was, but it was said that someone had seen a massive, mountain-like demon figure on the sea surface.」`
`「The terrifyingly broken trace still remains on the land, like a shocking scar.」`
`「Just that one blow had killed more than ten thousand people.」`
`「You silently browse through the battle report, and then take over all the affairs of the city-state of Sparta.」`
`「No one questions your qualifications. The council prepares to hold an enthronement ceremony for you, but you put a stop to it.」`
`「Because, besides the hardest helmet fragment, no bones of Leonidas were found in the ruins.」`
`「You therefore declare that you are only acting as regent. When you succeed to the throne, the throne will still be forever reserved for that King of Sparta.」`
`「The people, with sorrow, but also with hope, continue to live on, and hold a day-and-night vigil in the square of Sparta.」`
The crowd dispersed.
The sunlight was gray and decadent.
The twilight of dusk spilled over this field of tombstones, like a silent mourning.
Before the newly built mausoleum...
A well-proportioned black-haired young man held his younger brother's hand, a bouquet of light-colored ranunculus in his arms.
Ranunculus represents vibrant life.
They stood for a long time.
Silently, they looked at the inscriptions on the tombstones.
That was a number representing forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty-seven lives.
Night gradually fell.
The moonlight draped over them.
In the dark shadow of the trees, a stooped, white-haired old man was shoveling, covering the grave with the last few handfuls of earth.
He packed down the last bit of earth.
He leaned on his shovel and tremblingly lifted his gaze.
He looked at the two brothers, who were standing silently like statues.
The old man couldn't help but let out a faint sigh.
"Go back, Your Highness Kratos..."
The old man who was building the tomb said softly.
"The construction of the city-state, everyone's hopes, there is no place in Sparta that does not need you.
"You have been standing here for a whole day..."
"Don't worry... it is you, at your age, who should have gone to rest long ago. Everyone won't mind."
The black-haired young man said softly.
"We just want to... watch a little longer."
"Your adoptive father, he," the old man shook his head. "Wouldn't want to see you so dejected either."
"Not adoptive father."
To the bitter smile that appeared on the old man's face...
The black-haired young man said, word by word, softly.
"He is my father."
"Sigh..."
The old man let out a soft sigh.
"Your Highness's legend, everyone in the city-state has heard it. Don't be too sad.
"Perhaps your biological father is still alive in this world?
"You still have a chance to reunite with your family..."
Looking at the stooped, kind-faced, and slightly bitter-smiling old man...
Su Shu slightly lowered his eyelids.
"Thank you for your comfort..."
To the old man's dazed and frozen expression...
The black-haired young man said in a low voice.
"But my biological father is Sparta.
"My respected father is Leonidas.
"Sparta is the land that gave birth to me and raised me.
"Leonidas is the elder who taught me and gave me the warmth and love of a father.
"In my heart, there is no room for anyone else to be my father.
"No matter how powerful, how noble, how revered that possible biological father may be...
"I will not admit that he is worthy of being my father."
Silence.
Under the frozen night, all was silent.
Only the white-haired old man, with his dim and turbid gaze lowered, was shoveling, piling up the earth for the graves of the deceased.
"Thank you for coming to build a resting place for everyone."
With his younger brother...
Su Shu bowed deeply to the old man.
Before the tombstone of the mausoleum...
He gently placed the ranunculus in his hand and turned around.
"The people of this city-state should... prefer olive branches, Your Highness."
Under the desolate night sky...
The old man's slightly hoarse and tired voice came from behind.
"Would you like me to send you a bouquet of olives?"
"Everyone..."
Su Shu stopped in his tracks, but did not turn back.
"—likes olives?"
"Yes, because olive branches symbolize peace."
The old man said with a hoarse sigh.
"People are looking forward to peace."
"I see..."
Su Shu murmured softly.
"Sorry... but I personally don't like them."
In the old man's turbid pupils...
The black-haired young man's back gradually disappeared into the night and finally vanished.
***
`「A new royal palace was quickly built on the original ruins.」`
`「In name, although you are only the regent, everyone knows that you are the uncrowned king of Sparta.」`
`「You efficiently handle the various affairs of the city-state of Sparta. Soon, half a year has passed. The entire city-state has been governed by you in an orderly manner and has quickly recovered its pre-war vitality.」`
`「To prevent the tragedy of half a year ago from happening again, you begin to gather the priests to discuss the matter of building a repulsion array.」`
`「You hope that, through the influence of magic, the rift of hell will no longer open up inside the city-state. At least this way, a wide battlefield can be left to fight the demons, to avoid the casualties of innocent residents.」`
`「However, for this concept, you have received a disappointing answer.」`
`「The more people there are, the more densely populated the place, the more likely demons will appear. This has been an immutable truth for over a hundred years.」`
`「However, in those sparsely populated wildernesses, besides the warriors with strong strength, the common people are easily attacked by magical beasts.」`
`「Between two evils, choose the lesser.」`
`「So the city-state form, the settlement structure with wide streets, has been widely adopted in this land of Greece.」`
`「You and the Aatrox in your heart are discussing, and you have not given up on the concept of expelling the demons.」`
`「It's just that... these days...」`
`「That disturbing nightmare has been making you more and more uncomfortable.」`
...
In a state of惘然混沌 thoughts...
As if the joyous cheers of a crowd were heard...
Su Shu dazedly lowered his gaze, and then slowly opened his eyes.
The sunlight was bright and clear.
Everything was so peaceful and serene.
In the Spartan square, filled with fluttering flower petals and festive lanterns...
He was holding the red-haired young girl's hand, and to Leonidas's smile, they were performing the marriage ceremony.
The young girl was wearing a red veil, her gentle face flushed, shy and bashful.
But her gaze, staring straight at him, was fervent and bold.
"...Myrrine?"
Su Shu dazedly called out her name.
He turned his head.
Leonidas was nodding and smiling at him.
"Today is your coming-of-age ceremony, Kratos."
Just as in his memory...
The red-haired man smiled and said with emotion.
"Father will personally preside over your wedding..."
In the dazzling, sky-filling flower petals...
Su Shu stared blankly as the red-haired young girl's hand gently caressed his face.
His childhood friend's fingertips...
Had a soft, reassuring warmth.
She reached out her hand and gently pushed.
In a dizzying daze...
The back of Su Shu's head touched a soft, feather-filled pillow.
In the flickering candlelight of the royal palace's bedroom...
Su Shu watched as the red-haired young girl, her face flushed, got on top of him.
Her amber-colored eyes poured out a dazed, intoxicating light.
"Kratos..."
Calling her husband's name so intimately...
Her soft, crimson lips slowly lowered, as if to kiss him.
"Myrrine."
With a slightly stunned expression...
Su Shu raised his hand and gently pressed it against her lips.
"What's wrong... Kratos?"
"Did we... have a wedding?"
"Yes."
The red-haired young girl's smile was as beautiful as a flower.
Just as in the past years, her smile blossomed in the flowers.
"Are you too tired, Kratos? The wedding went on for a whole day, you..."
"I'm dreaming."
Su Shu said softly.
"You're already dead."
Her smile froze on her face.
The touch of the young girl's body suddenly became cold and dead.
His red-haired childhood friend...
Her exquisite features slowly seeped with thick blood.
"Because you... didn't save me, Kratos."
"I'm sorry."
Her figure, as if being crushed...
The intoxicating beauty dissipated into dead bones.
Holding his forehead...
Su Shu slowly sat up in the dark bedroom of the royal palace.
The moonlight pouring in from the window was quiet and bright.
He tiredly揉着 his eyebrows.
"This dream again..."
Leonidas, Myrrine, they were not dead.
In Su Shu's dream every night...
Everything passed so peacefully.
The timeline was getting longer and longer, becoming... more and more real.
At first, it only reached Kratos's thirteenth year, and the dream would come to an abrupt end.
But half a year had passed.
Now in the dream, Kratos had already grown to fifteen years old and had held a wedding with Myrrine.
He couldn't let this go on.
That's right, this continuous nightmare...
"—Someone... is playing tricks, Aatrox."
Asking silently in his heart...
However, he did not get Aatrox's answer.
...Hmm?
As if sensing something...
Su Shu dazedly turned his head.
A sudden halt in his breathing...
A skipped heartbeat...
The moment he realized something was wrong, it was as if a heavy hammer had struck a taut string in his mind.
In the quiet royal palace bedroom, a dull hum quietly spread in his ear.
His brain...
Felt dizzy.
This... this is—
A familiar bed...
A familiar bedroom...
A familiar comfortable temperature in the bed...
—And this familiar, beautiful woman with amber-colored Rinnegan beside him.
Pale skin, an intellectual and exquisite appearance.
Her olive-branch-like, orange-red soft hair was somewhat disheveled, falling on her cheeks, jaw, and neck.
Her fair shoulder peeked out from the bed, an alluring curve of her collarbone.
And the curve of her lips, a natural charm.
She was lying on her side like this, with a deep, ambiguous gaze.
Su Shu: "…"
Silence.
A silence as if time had frozen.
"What's wrong, Kratos?"
The orange-haired woman with Rinnegan gently took the black-haired young man's right hand, which was covering his face.
With an ambiguous expression...
She gently pressed the young man's palm against her own cheek.
Elasticity.
And then softness.
That warm and moist feeling, like flawless white jade, the well-proportioned curve formed by bone and flesh, and the deep curve extending down from her collarbone, was like a ladder to heaven, making one want to climb it.
Gently rubbing his back of the hand with her soft cheek...
The beautiful woman with Rinnegan said softly, with a smile.
"...We just had our wedding."
The layered concentric pupils, the amber-colored eyes that bewitched people...
She smiled very subtly.
"Don't you remember?"
Boom—
Su Shu suddenly exerted force and punched through the thick wall, also shattering the orange-haired woman's figure into a phantom.
"Athena..."
"Heh..."
The rippling, dissipating figure...
Swayed again and appeared on the bed.
Draped in a pure white, alluring veil...
The orange-haired woman had a halo behind her head, like a goddess descending to the world, and stood before Su Shu.
"Your father is not dead.
"Your childhood friend is not either...
"That was not a dream.
"But... a manifestation of them calling out to you, Kratos."
The orange-haired woman tilted her head, a half-smile on her face.
"I can tell you how to save them."
She lowered her exquisite cheek.
Her swaying pigtail swayed slightly behind her head.
"On the condition that..."
Her amber-colored eyes looked down from above.
"Kratos, be my dog."
The ripples in her eyes swayed slightly. The orange-haired goddess licked her lips.
"I will dote on you well."
In the solemn atmosphere...
Faced with these almost soul-capturing amber-colored eyes...
The black-haired young man looked up.
Word by word, he spoke the words that made the goddess's expression freeze.
"This is a piece of advice, Athena.
"You should be the one to become my dog.
"It will be the greatest honor of your life."
---
"I like people, the way people like dogs."
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